The use of pull tabs on containers of various kinds, particularly, beverage cans is well known in the art. The earliest beverage can pull tabs were of the type that detached from the can end when actuated and had to be discarded before imbibing the contents of the can. There were multiple problems associated with these ring tabs as they were predominantly known and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,349,949 to Cudzik. The rings tabs once detached from the can had a tendency to fall back into the can after detachment creating a potential choking and injury hazard to the person drinking the contents of the can. In addition, the detached tabs when discarded on the ground could cause severe cuts to a person stepping on the sharp edges of the tab.
The pull out ring tabs were subsequently replaced by the stay on pull tabs which were constructed to stay attached to the can end after actuation to avoid the hazards associated with the detachable ring tabs. An example of such a stay on pull tab is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,752. The stay on pull tabs on beverage and other cans in the market today generally have the same design and construction with minor variations. A majority of them have an elongated, rectangular shape with curvilinear lift and nose ends with the nose end extending over the frangible can top seal which is broken by lifting the lift end and exerting downward pressure on the seal through the nose end. A central fastening tongue and hinge at the nose end allows for the securement of the pull tab to the central rivet of the can. This central rivet acts as a fulcrum and lever providing the nose end of the pull tab sufficient downward pressure to break the frangible seal to open the can while at the same time allowing the tab to remain attached to the nose end of the can after the seal is broken.
Marketing of products by placing advertisements on the surfaces of a variety of objects, including beverage cans, apparel and other items has been in vogue for decades. Placing advertisements on articles and objects that are commonly used by the consumer has the potential to reach the maximum number of consumers and the related benefit of an uptick in sales for the advertised products. The worldwide popularity of beverages, both canned and bottled provides an excellent opportunity for marketing products through the strategic placement of advertisements on these beverage cans and bottles. However, the placement of advertisements and other promotional offers on the side of a can is not sufficiently noticeable and therefore of limited appeal to marketers.
Advertisements, promotions and logos printed on the underside of bottle caps have met with limited success primarily because the bottle caps are usually discarded as soon as they are removed from the bottle neck and scarce attention is paid to reading the printed material placed on the inside of the bottle cap. In addition, the sharp edges of the traditional bottle caps discourage their storage in a garment pocket. On the other hand, beverage can ends provide an ideal vehicle for marketing through placement of an advertisement, logo, and informational or promotional material on the pull tab itself, which is appealing to marketers as the consumer must look at the top of the can to actuate the pull tab, virtually guaranteeing exposure to the message on the pull tab
A drawback with the current can pull tabs is their small shape and size which does not permit the placement of any meaningful printed, etched or cutout designs on them. The pull tab of the present invention through its unique wing-shaped design and construction overcomes the deficiency in the prior art for a can pull tab that is capable of providing a large enough surface area for the placement of advertisements, logos, or promotional offers and related material.